200°

Third-party Xi3 Piston "Steam Box" console gets $1,000 price tag, but will it be worth it?

"Either way it's starting to look like a tough sell: the Piston (using PC architecture to run Linux and Steam's Big Picture mode), like other forthcoming Steam Box machines, is designed to bring PC gaming to the living room as small-form-factor, modular upgradeable, affordable units. If the Xi3 Piston is anything to go by however, Steam Boxes look set to be just as pricey as next-gen consoles, and not necessarily as powerful, given the size constraints."

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techdigest.tv
Xaphy4077d ago

why would anyone buy this when they can build a pc themselves for that price?

MurDocINC4077d ago

$100 "stream" box
$300 steambox
$300+ 3rd party

Gabe in a way stated that.

Spoon_4076d ago

I thought xi3 is not the steam Box?

Korezo4076d ago

It isn't the steam box, it's a 3rd party hardware. Valve haven't even revealed the steambox.

MikeMyers4077d ago

This is one of the issues, trying to identify itself from the mainstream computer user and the hardcore who builds their own. Valve also won't likely sell the hardware at a loss like the console makers often do. That's because Valve does not charge as much for royalties and updates that they do to have software offset hardware costs.

If they can scale the systems to different pricing while making it competitive they might do ok.

porkChop4077d ago

Valve actually charges more for royalties. Whereas on consoles the manufacturers take $10 (~15%) on a $60 game, Valve charges 30% for every game on Steam. Even for indie games. So basically, Valve charges twice as much for royalties compared to everyone else. They're able to get away with it because of how popular Steam is.

Pandamobile4076d ago

@porkChop

That's only retail games. Console manufacturers take 15% off the top for retail console games (which doesn't happen for PC games).

For all games and content purchased through XBL and PSN, Sony and Microsoft both take a 30% cut, the same as Valve.

bakasora4076d ago

Try holding the rig you built with your palm. Because that's how small the steam box is.

Sykoticz4076d ago (Edited 4076d ago )

@Bakasora Try justifying paying $1000 on something that maybe only able to play games on medium-low settings.

I know its small yes it looks cool but building you own rig is so much more rewarding and unique.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4076d ago
N0S3LFESTEEM4077d ago

Seriously though... You could build a pretty worthy gaming rig with that much.

FX-8350 = $200
Radeon 7970 = $450
Asus M5A97 Evo = $100

That's $750... so plenty of headroom for the rest of that build.

gamer2344077d ago

so much for PC gaming ,Iam so sticking to console

N0S3LFESTEEM4077d ago

@ Gamer234

Just demoing what $1000 can get you... I can build a complete rig for around $650 that will be more than enough for gaming. $1000 is actually the sweet spot for building a rig that will last.

TheRealSpy4077d ago

The sweet spot for a rig that will last is closer to 1300-1500.

and even that PC will show it's age after 4 or 5 years.

i still think it's totally worth it though. running games like crysis 3 and wither 2 on max settings is glorious! if the "next gen" consoles manage to look as good as crysis 3, i'd be surprised.

Irishguy954076d ago (Edited 4076d ago )

800 sweetspot Mid range gaming, upgrade with another 250 Gpu in 3-4 years.

Lasts for long time

Edit - Just saw Tomb Raider for 30 dollars on CDkeyhouse. New game for 30 quid. PC gaming is cheaper than console gaming in the end.

Utalkin2me4076d ago (Edited 4076d ago )

So 250 more bucks you can get a case, power supply, memory, hard drive and operating system for 250 bucks?

@Irish
Its not even close guy. At least console gaming you can trade or sell your games and get half your money back. Or just rent tomb raider like i did for 10 bucks and have it beat and return it in 3 days. Not like im going to be playing it over and over.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4076d ago
showtimefolks4076d ago

if Valve think they can charge anywhere near $1000 and compete with ps4 or next xbox than they are not thinking straight, for $1000 you could build a killer PC yourself

also like someone said earlier many think Valve charges less for royalties but they actually charge more, consoles charge 15% while Valve charges 30% even to indie developers

CapsLocke4076d ago

Valve has nothing to do with charging for this device.

hellvaguy4076d ago

"why would anyone buy this when they can build a pc themselves for that price?"

Why would anyone buy a store built desktop pc when you can build that for half the price with better parts? Yet complete build pc's far number people who build their own. I build my own desktops and try convincing all my family and friends to do the same, yet some of them "just don't want to deal with the hassel".

Xaphy4076d ago

because most people aren't into gaming? I'm talking from a gamer's perspective here.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4076d ago
Interloper4077d ago

This thing will sink faster and lower than George W. Bush's approval ratings.

Holeran4076d ago

And half as fast as Obamas approval ratings and not near as low.

Biggest4076d ago

And since Obama's ratings are fairly high (especially compared to Bush)... What's the point again?

Holeran4076d ago

Just a jab at our emperor who seems bound and determined to ruin this country one way or another.

Evil-snuggles4076d ago

Who know tea baggers where gamers I Thought it was against There crazy ass religion I'm sure it's in the Bible somewhere Not to game isn't that in the Ten Commandments or something Thou shall not game lol lol lol wow

Holeran4076d ago

And another uneducated drone^^ enters the conversation.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4076d ago
juandren4077d ago

Lol at #1. Turrets syndrome

Rainstorm814077d ago (Edited 4077d ago )

He guns down any and everything thing he sees??

** Looks at comment #1** Oh Tourette's Syndrome......^_^

Show all comments (92)
70°

Helldivers 2: How to Link Steam and PlayStation Network Accounts

This article explains how to link your Steam and PlayStation Networks accounts, which is becoming a must for Helldivers 2.

1d 13h ago
60°
8.0

Toaplan Arcade Shoot 'Em Ups 4 Review -- Gamerhub UK

Save the quarters and blast everything to oblivion at home!

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gamerhub.co.uk
290°

Steam’s Refund Policy Change Won’t Affect You Unless You’re A Lowlife

Steam is changing its refund policy, but you probably won’t be affected

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thegamer.com
thorstein12d ago

Should have happened a long time ago. People wanting refunds after 50 hours in game.

fsfsxii12d ago

Pc gamers will take this as an excuse to pirate things

KyRo12d ago

I'm not sure why you're getting disgrees. Whilst not all PC gamers are petty, an awful lot of them are lol

Crows9012d ago

Entirely untrue. Not any more petty than console gamers. The only large difference is console gamers don't have much of a choice.

Michiel198911d ago

Not sure why you're getting agrees. an awful lot of console gamers are overemotional twinks ready to go to war over a plastic box, I'll take being a pc gamer then.

Speaking about overgeneralizing much.

Nooderus11d ago

"X" type of gamer conversations are cringe

qalpha12d ago

Daily reminder that 'TheGamer' is a corporate-generated, anti-gamer, anti-consumer, clickbait web site. They are mostly A.I. generated articles that villainize gamers. They provide nothing positive and actively try to provoke and divide the community through extreme view points and politics. Do not give them any clicks.

Inverno12d ago

Only scumbags? As if people don't play their games on console put in the most amount of hours and return it to GameStop and trade it in for another game. But also how many people are actually do this? And what games have been allowed to be refunded?

DustMan12d ago

You can refund any game you've purchased as long as it hasn't been longer than two weeks, and you've played less than 2 hours. I wish they would change it to 3 hours because some RPG's have so much exposition that you may only get an hour total of complete gameplay. That's my only knock on it. I've refunded plenty of stuff I was just curious to try. I typically stay away from Early Access titles which are the only ones affected by this policy change.

Inverno12d ago

Apparently early access doesn't count, only complete games with a play early preorder bonus.

Gaming4Life198112d ago

I definitely know if I want a refund in 2 hours.

SegaSaturn66911d ago

I never liked refunding anything. Even if a film is bad, i dont want my money back. Sometimes things just aren't for me, and it's not the creator's fault necessarily.

Gaming4Life198111d ago

I feel you and i have never walked out on a bad movie cause I payed my money. I also don't refund games cause I'm a gamer and I know what to buy lol. I think having a digital refund is great.

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